London Meetings.
The London Meetings
programme from January to July 2008 .
Saturday 2nd February 2008
Kevin Brackley
Laos – "Luang Nam Tha to Vientianne"
Trying out a new small group trip for Gecko to northern Laos, starting in Luang Nam Tha, exploring the Eco park, before journeying to Nong Khiaw and then down the Ou river to Luang Prabang and onto Vientianne.
Jonathan Kaplan
"Surgeon under Siege"
An account of a period spent working as the sole surgeon in the beseiged town of Kuito in Angola's Central Highlands,in the 27th year of that country's long and destructive war.
Saturday 1 March 2008
Helen Barnhill
Mount Kailash and Tibet.
Helen (William Wood Travel Award winner for 2006) reports back on her journey to Mount Kailash and Tibet.
Bronwen Riley
"Transylvania"
Bronwen Riley lived for a time in the remote mountains of Transylvania, studying village traditions and learning Romanian. An Oxford Classics graduate, she specialised in the post-Byzantine art of Romania at the Courtauld Institute, London. She is now managing editor of guidebooks at English Heritage and organises tours of small groups to share her great enthusiasm for and knowledge of Romania.
Saturday 5th April 2008
Two mini talks of 20mins each:
1. Dick Curtis
Asturias - a greeen surprise and treat
2. Zara Taylor
The Omo Valley Ethiopia including the Bull
Jumping ceremony of the Hamer Tribe.
Rob Wilwall
Cycling home from Siberia
30,000 miles 28 countries 37 months 16 boat rides 1 bicycle
from the frozen tundra of Siberia to the steaming jungles of Papua New Guinea
from the epic plains of Australia to the lonely passes of Afghanistan
http://www.cyclinghomefromsiberia.com/wordpress/?page_id=2
Saturday 10 May 2008
John Malathronas
Singapore, The Old within the New
For generations of Britons, Singapore was the international crossroads of the Empire, the ultimate colonial posting, the stimulus for writers such as Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham or Noel Coward. Can today's hightech 24-hour city with its gleaming skyscrapers and high standard of living provide a similar kind of inspiration to a visitor?
John Malathronas penetrates the Oriental psyche and discovers the hustle among the stuffiness, the thrill behind the Confucian ethic and, ultimately, the joie de vivre in what has been unjustly dismissed as "a shopping mall with UN representation". Still more importantly, during his quest, he realises that this overcrowded, multicultural, multifaith city-state can teach us a lesson about living together in harmony and with mutual respect.
For more info see: http://www.summersdale.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=39&products_id=801&osCsid=fagf2kbbm6m6q30e9muqc66lm2
Christopher Somerville
"A golden Step, a mountain trail through Crete"
For Christopher Somerville this was a journey unlike any other he had undertaken in travel-writing. The only plan was to begin in the east at Easter and finish at Whitsun in the extreme west, at the Monastery of the Golden Step.
For more info see: http://www.west-crete.com/book-review-the-golden-step.htm
Saturday 7 Jun 2008
This meeting is in 24 days time.
Christopher Robbins
Kazakhstan
The only thing most people know about Kazakhstan is that it is Borat's homeland - and he isn't even real. Actually this vast place is far more surprising and entertaining. For one thing, it is as varied as Europe, combining stupendous wealth, grinding poverty, exotic traditions and a mad dash for modernity. Crisscrossing a vanished land, Christopher Robbins finds Eminem by a shrinking Aral Sea, goes wolf-hunting by helicopter, visits the scene of Dostoyevsky's doomed first love, takes up residence beside one-time neighbour Leon Trotsky and visits some of the most beautiful, unspoilt places on earth.
For more info see:
http://kazakhstanmediacenter.com/history/arts/insearch.cfm
Sam Manicom
Under Asian Skies
‘Under Asian Skies’ takes up where Africa is left behind. The adventure hurtles forward from Australia to Germany. It is packed with catastrophes, the sheer joy of being on the road, and the pure adrenaline buzz that each day can bring. Once again, the adventures demand that Sam’s Guardian Angel is on hand to work overtime! What goes wrong, and what can be learned from the disasters? How many of the dreaded lurgies can you catch? What happens when a solo adventurer decides to take a pillion on board? How is a trip like this funded? What’s ‘Full Moon Fever’? Is Asia really mystical? How does a biker deal with the poverty? Is smuggling really a good idea? What kit worked the best? Who else is out on the road? What was that about romance? And what was that about two wheels being the best possible way to see the world?
For more info see: http://www.sam-manicom.com
Saturday 5 Jul 2008
This meeting is in 52 days time.
Members Slides :
8 presentations of 12 slides
Our final meeting before the Summer break - an opportunity for 8 members or guests to show 12 slides and talk for 10 minutes - and for some the first rung on the travel talks ladder.
